1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and, more specifically, to apparatus and methods for transmitting data using less data overhead in a wireless communication system.
2. Background
As wireless communications become increasingly popular, the demand for system resources increases as well. As the third generation mobile communication system (3G) becomes more widely accepted, the demand for many new types of high bandwidth wireless data services is expected to increase dramatically. 3G air interface standards—for example, WCDMA—tend to increase the demand for scarce bandwidth by popularizing a number of bandwidth-intensive wireless services such as the wireless transmission of multimedia, wireless e-mailing, Internet access, video streaming, image transmission, and interactive gaming. At present, wireless systems tend to fill nearly to capacity at peak usage times in populous areas, and the demand for bandwidth is expected to increase. System designers are constantly seeking ways to transmit data more efficiently so as to meet the increasing demand for bandwidth. Ironically, as system usage approaches full capacity, the incidence of wireless calls which are dropped may actually increase due to competing signals being simultaneously transmitted, thus requiring additional wireless resources to retransmit the lost data.
High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is one development of the WCDMA standard that streamlines downlink communications to wireless users. Another aspect of increased wireless demand concerns transmissions from the wireless user to the base station, the uplink. High speed uplink transmissions are being addressed by another WCDMA development, the Enhanced Uplink (EUL). The objective of EUL is to enhance high speed data uplink access. Even though the EUL standard is a step in the right direction, there is still room for improvement in the efficiency of wireless uplink transmissions.